Unexpected reactor shutdowns at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station were a frequent multimillion-dollar problem a decade ago, but when Unit 2 went dark in October, it was on a long, record-breaking run.

WASHINGTON For a casino mogul worth an estimated $25billion, $34.2 million may sound like chump change. Yet that's how much money Sheldon Adelson has donated so far to aid Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and organizations supporting Romney this election, making him the donor of donors for the GOP.

The name "Tom Roberts" appears on no plaque in the Smithsonian Institution's musical instruments collection. At no concert, even when Roberts was in attendance, did Smithsonian chamber musicians reveal that he was one of their greatest benefactors. Among museum curators, he was known as "Mr. Anonymous."

WASHINGTON The Senate rejected dueling Democratic and Republican plans on Thursday for averting a July 1 doubling of interest rates on federal college loans for 7.4 million students, pushing back efforts to resolve the election-season showdown until next month.